George middleton edwards



(No Model.)

G. M. EDWARDS.

METAL LATH.

,917. Patented 001;. 15. 1889.

INVNTOR a0 WITNESSES.

N FEYERS, PhclmLilhogmpher. Wzshingtom n. c.

UNITED STATES LATENT rricn.

M ETAL LATH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 412,917, dated October15, 1889.

Application filed May 14, 1888. $erial No. 273,882. (No model.) Patentedin England August 27,1888, No. 4,127.

To allwhom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, GEORGE MIDDLETON EDWARDS, of London, England, haveinvent ed certain new and useful Improvements in Metal Laths, of whichthe following is a specification.

The present invention constitutes the subject-matter of Letters Patentgranted to me in Great Britain, No. 4,127, dated August 27, 1883.

My improved laths are made entirelyout of sheet metal, and theirdistinguishing feature consists in their being provided with anattaching-rib and with laterally-extending flanges, said flanges beingin a different plane from the back of said rib.

The improved laths are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhich- Figure 1 shows the preferred construction of lath in side, plan,and end elevation. Fig. 2 shows a modified construction of the lath inside, plan, and end elevation; and Fig. 3 shows the improved. lathsapplied to the rafters of a buildin Referring first to Fig. 1, Arepresents the projecting rib of the improved lath, and B B representthe side flanges thereof. The cen tral projecting rib extendslongitudinally of the lath throughout its entire length, and, as shown,comprises a flat attaching-web a, and side walls I) b, which connect theweb of the rib with the laterally-extending flanges B B. These flanges lB extend in a diiferent plane from the web a, but in a plane parallelwith that of the web. The side walls Z) I) of the projecting rib areprefen bly inclined toward each other, so that the open space betweenthe edges of the side walls, where they are connected with the sideflanges, is narrower than the width of the web a. Owing to thisarrangement the rib is dovetailed in cross-section. The outer edges ofthe laterally-extending flanges B B are notched, as shown at c 0,throughout their entire length. The notches c c of one side flangealternate with those on the opposite side flange in order to economizematerial in stamping the laths out of sheet metal. The projecting earsof one flange iit into the notches of the adjacent flange of theadjoining lath, which is simul taneously formed out of the piece ofsheet metal. In using laths made in this manner the attachingweb a ofthe projecting rib A is placed against the rafter, and the lath isattached to the rafters by driving a nail or nails through the web intothe rafter. The several laths are thus placed side by side on therafters, as shown in Fig. 8, a sufficient space being left betweenadjoining laths for the mortar to pass between. When mortar is appliedtothese laths, it is securely held by them, since it fills into the spacebetween the rafters and the laterally extending flanges B B of thelaths. The mortar also fills in the dovetailed rib, and when hardened inthis'position the dovetailed rib prevents the mortar from falling out.The notched edges of the side flanges of the lath materially assist inthe holding of the mortar and permit the mortar to freely flow behindthe flanges.

The modification shown in Fig. 2 shows a lath having the essentialfeatures of a pro jecting rib having an attaching-web and lat-.erally-projecting flanges in different planes.

The sides of the lath are also formed with in wardly-extending notcheshaving the same function as the notches shown in the pre= ferredconstruction. In this construction the projecting rib has but one sidewall connecting the flanges with the web. The rib is formed from thesheet-metal blank by first bending the single side wall I) of the ribdown at right angles to the body of the blank, and then by bending theweb a at right angles to the side wall I). The body of the blank, whichconstitutes then a single side flange b, has a series of slits cut intoit, said slits extending nearly, but not quite, to the side wall I). Thetongues d cl, which are formed by these slits, are then bent through anangle of one hundred and eighty degrees to the opposite side of the sidewall of the projecting rib, thus constituting the second side flange B.The spaces formed by the bend ing over of the tongues d d constitute aseries of notches in the first-formed side flange, and the spacesseparating the several tongues d d from each other constitute thenotches on the second formed side flange. The laths thus formed requireless metal than those of the preferred construction; but they are not sostrong.

The laths of the modified construction are applied in the same manner asthose of the preferred construction, the attaching-nails a flatattaching-web, and laterally-extending passing through the Web of thelath. notched flanges extending in a difierent I claim as my inventionplane from that of the attaching-web but 1. A sheet-metal lathcomprising a longiparallel therewith, substantially as set forth. I5 5tudinally-extending projecting rib having a In testimony that I claimthe foregoing I fiat attaching-Web, and laterally-extending havehereunto set my hand this 8th day of notched flanges extending in aplane differ- June, 1887.

ent from that of the attaching-Web but par- GEORGE MIDDLETON EDWARDS.allel therewith, substantially as set forth. Witnesses:

IO 2. A metallic lath having a longit-udinally- ARTHUR W. MCLELLAN,

extending dovetailed projecting rib having GEORGE PERCY SKELSEY.

